


The Incident at Carter's

by cnell



Category: Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-31
Updated: 2013-03-31
Packaged: 2017-12-07 01:42:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/742699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cnell/pseuds/cnell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>George Wickham has unfortunate timing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Incident at Carter's

**Author's Note:**

> According to the LBD postscript, Lydia doesn't like Carter's anymore? Oh well, I liked the title too much.
> 
> Many thanks to [imaginarycircus](http://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginarycircus/pseuds/imaginarycircus) for helping me with the beginning.

“And that’s when he dumped Catherine’s martini on her dog,” Lizzie said.

Lydia’s eyes went comically wide. “On the _dog?_ ”

Gigi could only gasp with laughter. Darcy glared across the table at her. “I knocked her drink over,” he said, “and I was not aiming for the dog.”

Lizzie slumped back in her seat and threw her cardboard coaster in the air, sending Lydia into fits of giggles. “Oh, well, in that case!”

“Ugh, so gross,” Gigi moaned, wiping her eyes. “The only thing that smells worse than Annie-kins is wet Annie-kins.”

“I know; I had to hold her the rest of the evening,” Darcy said, which set them all off again.

The evening had started normally enough. They were at Carter’s on a noisy Friday, kicking off one of Lizzie’s weekends home with Lydia. It had been Darcy’s idea to invite Gigi, suggested with the best of intentions. A chance for their sisters to feel included, and perhaps bond over shared troubles. 

Instead, he had managed to surround himself with women who delighted in teasing him and allow them to join forces.

“The sound that creature made,” Lizzie continued with a dramatic shudder. “It haunted my nightmares for days. Days, William! Why would you do that?”

“You told me to.”

“I said _distract_ Catherine, not throw $30 worth of booze in her lap.”

Lydia clutched her raspberry vodka with both hands. “ _Thirty do—_ Dude, I just don’t even know what to say to you right now.”

“I don’t suppose that means you will stop talking,” he replied, peering down his nose at her.

“Pffft, you wish,” she said, but she was grinning. They had managed to become friends sometime in the past year – friends who had no idea how to talk to each other, but friends nonetheless. They compensated by exaggerating themselves: the old costume theatre trick.

“I guess that explains why Aunt Catherine kept threatening to reduce our funding last week,” Gigi smirked. “Just so I know, would you sabotage _all_ your business interests for your girlfriend, or...?”

He opened his mouth to say no, but Lizzie happened to be brushing her hair off her neck at that moment and what came out was, “Probably.”

Lizzie’s face collapsed into his favourite what-am-I-going-to-do-with-you expression. She tugged his tie crooked, then pulled him forward and kissed him.

“Awww,” said Gigi.

“Oh god, I am so not drunk enough,” said Lydia, pushing her chair back. “This is all on your tab, right, Darcy?”

Gigi left too, saying she needed to freshen up. She’d been ditching them in intimate moments for so long, it had turned into a habit. 

“See, I told you they had common interests,” Darcy said presently.

Lizzie laughed, cuddling against his shoulder. “Poor boy, are we ganging up on you? But if we don’t compare notes on you now, we might not get the chance again.”

As usual, he could not resist smiling back. “I would by no means suspend any pleasure of – ”

“Shit.” The sudden change in her voice made him jump. She was staring past him and her face had gone bone white. “ _Shit._ What’s he doing here?”

Then he knew what was wrong, so clearly he hardly needed to turn around to see it: Lydia standing motionless in the crowd by the bar, unmistakeable with her bright hair, and George Wickham looming over her.

Darcy’s outrage was not fast enough for Lizzie, who nearly knocked him over as she bolted from the table. Running after her, he noticed a voice in his head muttering of course, of _course_ this was how it had to happen. It wasn’t enough to spend thousands of dollars and break a surprising number of intellectual property laws – no, he had to get into a fight at a small-town bar and possibly wind up in jail.

Then, only several yards away, he skidded to a stop – because Gigi had appeared at Lydia’s shoulder, and if Gigi’s glare was like ice then Lydia’s was spitting hot fire.

Wickham was stumbling backward in alarm when he noticed Lizzie shoving her way toward him. Several paces behind, Darcy could see the rigid line of her shoulders and the clench of her fists. “Wow, George,” she said, “you really picked a bad time.”

On second thought, maybe Darcy would sit this one out.

Wickham stuttered, his drunken gaze flitting between the three women before settling back on Lydia. “So that’s it then,” he said, and his face took on the wounded expression they had all seen so many times before. “You’re just going to beli—“

“Shut up,” Lydia snapped. She stepped forward, her face inches from his. “Don’t you dare talk to me. I don’t want to hear it, I don’t want to fucking _look_ at you. Come near me again and I swear to god....”

Darcy shifted on his feet. People were staring, forming a tight ring around them. One of the bouncers edged his way through the crowd and planted himself in the middle. “Okay,” he barked, “I’m gonna need you guys to calm down or get out.”

Not missing a beat, Gigi – brave, amazing Georgiana – turned and smiled her best high-society smile. “Please don’t trouble yourself. Mr. Wickham was just leaving.”

Wickham looked frightened. The bouncer actually looked embarrassed. “All right, everyone back off. We’re cool here, right?”

“Yeah,” Lizzie said through gritted teeth. “We’re done.”

The onlookers mumbled their disappointment as Wickham was pushed toward the exit. Gigi gave him a final withering look and turned her back; Lizzie touched her sister’s shoulder lightly, drawing her away.

And then the poor bastard grabbed Lydia’s arm. “Would you just—”

They all lunged toward her, but it was too late. In two quick motions Lydia flung Wickham’s hand away, grabbed him by the collar and slammed her sharp knee squarely into his groin.

For a moment, Darcy and every other man at the bar were united in agonized sympathy.

Then the groans gave way to laughter and Darcy opened his eyes to Wickham lying in a heap on the floor. Lydia stepped over him as she stormed toward the exit, Gigi close behind; the crowd parted to let them pass.

Lizzie threw a glance over her shoulder before hurrying after them. “We’ll meet you outside. Get our coats.”

***

“It was very manly coat-fetching,” Lizzie told him later.

“I left a very manly gratuity, too.”

“Yes you _did_.” She rumpled his hair.

***

Darcy did not make jokes about the incident to Lydia. He could only imagine how upsetting it had been for her and he would never dream of being so dismissive.

He never let her pay for alcohol around him, either.


End file.
